Demand Rises in Asia for Weight-Loss Surgery

By Claudia Blume Hong Kong 14 April 2007

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Liang Yong, a 26-year-old man, carries his child in a basket on his back in southwest China's Chongqing municipality

As Asian levels of obesity are catching up with the West, more and more people in the region choose to undergo weight-loss surgery. Claudia Blume at VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong reports about the growing trend.

Obesity is no longer just a problem in the West. Rising affluence in Asia means many people now have more food on their plate than they need, and often it is rich in fat and sugar. At the same time, physical activity in the region's cities is increasingly reduced. The result: more and more Asians are overweight or clinically obese, even in developing countries.

Ramen Goel is a member of the Obesity Surgery Society of India. He says while there is still a lot of malnourishment in India, there is at the same time an increasing number of overweight people. He says there is a growing trend of obesity among children, for example in the capital New Delhi.

"One in three children, the child is overweight. That means 30 percent of the children is overweight. That's a dangerous trend because it's almost at par with what you have in the USA," he said.

The health risks for extremely overweight people are enormous, and include heart disease and arthritis. But for many, exercise and diets are no longer enough to lose weight. Goel says an increasing number of morbidly obese Indians are turning to bariatric surgery, in which doctors seal off most of the stomach to limit food intake.

He said when he first started doing these operations seven years ago, he had one patient every three months on average. Now, he operates on about 10 patients every month.

Anti-obesity surgery also is a growing trend in other Asian countries - mainly in Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. At a regional anti-obesity conference, held earlier this month in Malaysia, participants said more than one thousand three hundred weight-loss surgeries were performed in the region in the past two years.

At the moment, there are only a few dozen qualified surgeons in the whole of Asia who can carry out these operations. Isao Kawamura of the Japanese Society for the Study of Obesity says organizations like his are trying to change that.

"Actually there are not so many surgeons in this area so we must educate them to get into this area from our society," said Kawamura.

Often, Asians undergoing bariatric surgery are less overweight than Western patients.

Kawamura says overweight Asians generally have a higher risk of developing weight-related health problems such as diabetes, even when they are not morbidly obese by Western standards.

Pro-Secular Turks Stage Mass Anti-Islamist Rally

By Amberin Zaman Istanbul 14 April 2007

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Thousands of Turks march towards Ataturk's mausoleum for a wreath laying ceremony in support of secularism after a rally in Ankara, 14 Apr 2007

More than 200,000 Turks protested in Turkey's capital Saturday against the country's prime minister, a former Islamist, who is expected to seek the presidency next month. From Istanbul, Amberin Zaman has details for VOA.

Chanting anti-government slogans, the crowds marched on the mausoleum of Ataturk, the pro-secular founder of modern Turkey, in an effort to discourage Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from making a bid for the presidency.

Bussed into to the capital Ankara from the most far flung regions of Turkey, tens of thousands of Turks waving the Turkish flag chanted "Turkey is secular and will remain secular." It was one of the biggest demonstrations in recent years.

Ural Akbulut is the rector of Ankara's pro-secular Middle East Technical University, one of many academic leaders who took part in the rally.

Akbulut says Saturday's turnout proves that Turkey's pro-secular spirit, inspired by Ataturk, remains very much alive.

The rally was organized by retired military officers and pro-secular civil rights groups, which allege that Mr. Erdogan has an Islamist agenda, and should therefore not be allowed to replace Turkey's fiercely pro-secular president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, when he steps down in May.

Mr. Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, founded by former Islamists, has a majority in the Turkish parliament, which is authorized by the constitution to elect the new president. Mr. Erdogan is widely believed to covet the country's top post, although he has yet to publicly declare his intentions.

Erdogan refutes allegations that he and his government are bent on steering Turkey, a key Western ally, toward an Islam-oriented path. Since coming to power more than four years ago, Erdogan's government has overseen a swath of democratic reforms that helped Turkey win a date to open membership talks with the European Union two years ago.

Western diplomats agree that Mr. Erdogan has done nothing substantive to alter Turkey's pro-secular course, though his efforts to outlaw adultery and to forge closer relations with Iran and Syria have provoked some concern.

As president, Mr. Erdogan would be the commander-in-chief of Turkey's rigidly pro secular Armed Forces. He also would have the power to appoint members of the judiciary and university rectors.

With just days left for candidates to submit their names, only one person, a comedian named Metin Uca, has declared his intention to run for president. On Friday, President Sezer waded into the presidential debate saying that Turkey's secular regime faced its gravest danger since the founding of the Republic in 1923. Throughout his seven-year term, Mr. Sezer vetoed legislation and the appointment of scores of senior officials forwarded by Mr. Erdogan, arguing that they posed a threat to secularism.

Some Iraqi Provinces Closing Door to Displaced

By Lisa Schlein Geneva 14 April 2007

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The International Organization for Migration says some provinces in Iraq are closing their doors to internally displaced people fleeing violence in Baghdad and other parts of the country. IOM says these areas are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the growing number of homeless people. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

An Iraqi woman at a camp in Diwaniyah, 130 kilometers south of Baghdad

The United Nations estimates that almost 2 million people are now internally displaced within Iraq. Of these, about 800,000 people have fled their homes since late February 2006, following the bombing of the Shi'ite golden mosque in Samarra.

A spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Jean-Philippe Chauzy, says the displaced are vulnerable and in great need of help.

"The International Organization for Migration has been monitoring around 55,000 families in 15 of the 18 governorates of Iraq," he said. "We found out that an overwhelming majority of those displaced, about 75 percent of the displaced, do not have adequate access to shelter, to food, to medical assistance, to drinkable water. Therefore, the challenges are quite enormous."

In the Governorate of Karbala, south of Baghdad, Chauzy says, local authorities are turning away internally displaced people because of the severe strain the displaced are putting on local resources and services. He says this is also occurring elsewhere in the country.

"The burden placed by the displaced on public services on host communities has basically brought the authorities of those governorates to stop the displaced from basically coming in and settling into these governorates," he added. "And, so that is obviously an added worry for the agencies that are trying to operate inside Iraq"

IOM has appealed for $50 million to fund its operations for internally displaced people. It has received only a fifth of that amount.

But Chauzy says IOM has received a $3.5 million donation from the UN's Central Emergency Revolving Fund. He says, thanks to that, the agency will be able to deliver desperately needed food and non-food assistance to some 15,000 vulnerable families over the next three months.

VOASE0414_People In America

14 April 2007

John Coltrane, 1926-1967: The famous saxophone player helped make modern jazz popular around the world

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VOICE ONE:

PEOPLE IN AMERICA, a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

He was one of the greatest saxophone players of all time. He wrote jazz music. He

John Coltrane

recorded new versions of popular songs. And, he helped make modern jazz popular. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Today, we tell about musician John Coltrane.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

John Coltrane was born in the state of North Carolina in nineteen twenty-six. He was raised in the small farm town of High Point. Both of his grandfathers were clergymen. As a young boy, he spent a great deal of time listening to the music of the black Southern church.

Coltrane's father sewed clothes. He played several musical instruments for his own enjoyment. The young Coltrane grew up in a musical environment. He discovered jazz by listening to the recordings of such jazz greats as Count Basie and Lester Young.

VOICE TWO:

When John was thirteen, he asked his mother to buy him a saxophone. People realized almost immediately that the young man could play the instrument very well. John learned by listening to recordings of the great jazz saxophone players, Johnny Hodges and Charlie Parker.

John and his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in nineteen forty-three. He studied music for a short time at the Granoff Studios and at the Ornstein School of Music.

VOICE ONE:

John Coltrane served for a year in a Navy band in Hawaii. When he returned, he began playing saxophone in several small bands.

In nineteen forty-eight, Coltrane joined trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie's band. Seven years later, Coltrane joined the jazz group of another trumpet player, Miles Davis. The group included piano player Red Garland, double bass player Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones.

VOICE TWO:

Coltrane began experimenting with new ways to write and perform jazz music. He explored many new ways of playing the saxophone.

Some people did not like this new sound. They did not understand it. Others said it was an expression of modern soul. They said it represented an important change. Jazz performers, composers and other musicians welcomed this change.

During the nineteen fifties, Coltrane used drugs and alcohol. He became dependent on drugs. Band leaders dismissed him because of his drug use. In nineteen fifty-seven, Coltrane stopped using drugs.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen fifty-nine, John Coltrane recorded the first album of his own music. The album is called "Giant Steps." Here is the title song from that album.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Coltrane also recorded another famous song with a larger jazz band. The band included Milt Jackson on vibes, Hank Jones on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Connie Kay on drums. Here is their recording of "Stairway to the Stars."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen sixty, Coltrane left Miles Davis and organized his own jazz group. He was joined by McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. This group became famous around the world.

John Coltrane's most famous music was recorded during this period. One song is called "My Favorite Things." Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein had written the song for the Broadway musical "The Sound of Music." Jazz critics say Coltrane's version is one of the best jazz recordings ever made. The record became very popular. It led many more people to become interested in jazz.

(MUSIC: "My Favorite Things")

VOICE TWO:

Critics say Coltrane's versions of other popular songs influenced all jazz music writing. One of these was a song called "Summertime." It was written by Du Bose Heyward and George Gershwin for the opera "Porgy and Bess."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen sixty-four, Coltrane married pianist Alice McCloud who later became a

member of his band. He stopped using alcohol, and became religious. He wrote a song to celebrate his religious experience. The song is more than thirty minutes long. It is called "A Love Supreme." Here is part of the song.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

By nineteen sixty-five, Coltrane was one of the most famous jazz musicians in the world. He was famous in Europe and Japan, as well as in the United States. He was always trying to produce a sound that no one had produced before. Some of the sounds he made were beautiful. Others were like loud screams. Miles Davis said that Coltrane was the loudest, fastest saxophone player that ever lived.

Many people could not understand his music. But they listened anyway. Coltrane never made his music simpler to become more popular.

Coltrane continued to perform and record even as he suffered from liver cancer. He died in nineteen sixty-seven at the age of forty in Long Island, New York.

VOICE ONE:

Experts say John Coltrane continues to influence modern jazz. Some critics say one of Coltrane's most important influences on jazz was his use of musical ideas from other cultures, including India, Africa and Latin America.

Whitney Balliett of The New Yorker Magazine wrote about Coltrane the year after his death: "People said they heard the dark night ... in Coltrane's wildest music. But what they really heard was a heroic ... voice at the mercy of its own power."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week at this time for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.